Scientific seminar

" Knowledge base management of Mediterranean forests under climate driven risks: the ways ahead"

15-16 of April 2010
Antalya, Turkey

Background

Mediterranean forests are one of the most vulnerable forest ecosystems on earth due to their marked fragility and instability as caused by harsh climatic conditions, long-lasting pressure by humans, recurrent fires, etc. Climate change in the Mediterranean region is revealing itself by temperature increase, change in precipitation regimes, and more frequent extreme events, such as drought, heat waves and storms. Furthermore, climatic models estimate that this situation will be aggravated in the next decades as they project a steady rise in temperatures, a significant decrease in rainfall and more frequent extreme events (droughts). As a consequence, forest growth and yield are expected to decline and forests will become more susceptible to biotic (pathogen and pests outbreaks) and abiotic risks (droughts and forest fires), which in turn will increase their frequency and intensity due to climate change (prolonged droughts and hot spells will aggravate forest fire risks, thermophilic pathogens species will become more virulent, etc).

Improving the understanding of climate driven risks and its integration in forest management is crucial for developing management strategies and sound policies that support the adaptation of Mediterranean forest ecosystems to the changing conditions.

Objectives

The objectives of the scientific seminar are to:

(i) present the latest scientific knowledge on the current and future impact of selected climate driven risks; droughts, forest fires and pest outbreaks in Mediterranean forests;

(ii) improve the understanding of the adaptive capacity of Mediterranean forests to climate driven risks,

(iii) to provide new knowledge on how forest management options and strategies can improve the adaptive capacity of Mediterranean forests and

(iv) to discuss approaches to address risks at the policy level.